eachdraidh | video - open to both courts

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video - open to both courts

[ Alice is outside of Caer Scima's courtyard in a brisk walk. She has the vorpal blade in one hand and elven sword in another. It feels strange, the sword. It's heavier than what she's used to and the way she uses it, she's not experienced in it. As usual, the way she attacks is frenzied, without a care of her own well-being, always bordering on being feral. She's already tried clubbing them with the knightmare hobby horse to no avail. The fact it didn't affect them leaves her visibly startled.]

It wasn't enough that we already made amends that we spilled blood on Death's Altar?!

[ She's cornered. Her mind's visions are twisted, there's a glimpse of something from her past. Fire. She is small, smaller than she is now. The way her visions twist together, it's hard to tell if it is a memory or a hallucination. She is small again, covered head to toe in bandages, wheeled down a dark, gloomy hallway by strangers-]

Stop it.

[ Alice warns holding out the curved sword. Now that her hands are shaking and she's nearly in a panic because what she fears most is fire.

You cannot help them.

But she refuses to fully succumb to this, she's never been this fearful in Drabwurld, not like this.]

[ She will not be pushed around, not anymore. She'll let the hounds of Hell have it by killing them. The horrified look on her face turns to a look of utter glee. She'll kill them.

She'll make sure they'll stay dead.

Because of the way she stabs them, even when they're dead.]

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[ She opts to use her heavy, blunted weapon once again, even if it has no effect on them. The hobby horse manifests in her hands. With both of her hands, she comes forward, cleaving the bulky weapon with a large thud against the ground.

Not only does it make a good blunt weapon, it makes a good shield. Alice glances back to Ariadne and the others. ]

Do you know where else in the castle they are? [ Ariadne asks, once she realizes Alice is there. She doesn't look up from her work, can't afford to; she grabs for another piece of wood and shoves it into place. ]

If we can drive them out here...

[ Alice has gone back to using the sword.

The only particular thing about dogs is their jaws and even Alice can't really avoid that. In one particular case, Alice barely gets by with one dog biting her, just inches away from her leg. She doesn't wait for it to grab on any other part of her. Down comes the sword with a force that seems so prenatural for Alice's small stature.

With a flick, Alice takes a breath, not even once taking the hair out of her face. ]

I didn't bother to count.

[ Ariadne swears slightly under her breath, in French; making sure the wood is firmly up against the gate, she turns and pulls a knife from her belt. ]

The guards can finish this up; they'll find me if they need instructions. Let's go find some.

[ Let's finish them off. ]

You are not.

[ She won't let her. She doesn't care if it keeps them off her back. She deserves it, every bit of the memories for leaving the children to the Dollmaker. This is what she tells herself. She'll push herself until she is completely ragged because it doesn't matter.

What matters is everyone gets out of the courtyard and they're gone. ]

[ Er. ]

What?

[ Alice isn't all there, even now, and Ariadne... well, she's not sure what to do. ]

Go back inside!

[ No matter what she says, she's refusing her help. For emphasis, Alice points back to the doors in which she rushed out of with the vorpal blade. ]

I'm not leaving you out here!

[ Yeah, no. Nice try Alice. ]

[ In response, Alice grows more agitated and so does her fighting. In one particular incident, Alice gives a prompt kick to one dog before driving her knife through it's skull. ]

I don't care! You don't belong out here!

Alice-

[ Another dog lunges, and Ariadne slashes with her knife; it catches the beast across the muzzle and it jerks back, snarling. ]

[ When Alice catches sight of this, the dog's fate is sealed. She trudges forward with the vorpal blade and the sword, with a cold fury. The glint in her eye says it all.

No one touches her friends. ]

I'm beginning to lose my patience with you things.

[ She curls back the sword, even as it hurts her thin wrist to do so and takes every opportune moment to phase out of a solid form into a swarm of butterflies before coming behind the beast within seconds to hurl down the sword.

Wordlessly.

Coldly.

She pushes it through the back of the beast. With her other hand Alice begins to stab at it repeatedly with the vorpal blade in a frenzy that betrays her icy demeanor. Over and over again, until it doesn't even move naturally on it's own accord. Until she can sate that obsession that she must dismember it so it doesn't move. ]

[ Alice.

Ariadne's heart practically breaks. The girl is trying to protect her, but it's- well, it's certainly not helping her calm down. And watching her stab the beast, over and over and over... ]

Alice, [ she says again, pleading this time; don't do this, it's dead, it's not moving, Alice- ]

Come on, let's look for them inside, [ she says instead. ]

Edited (WRONG WORD) 2014-11-22 04:18 (UTC)

[ With every passing moment, Alice grows more and more agitated. She spits, barely turning to Ariadne. ]

No.

[ The dogs barely invoke another fear out of her, a fear of loss that holds her. A fear she can't shake no matter how many times she drives her knife through. She's done.

She's shaking with anger and grief. ]

Why?

So you end up like them? Frightened out of your mind?

No.

[ Ariadne takes a breath. She has to stay calm, has to be calm even though the dogs are pulling at her psyche. Alice needs her to be firm, to be sane. ]

Because there are people inside who might need our help. People we like.

Go inside.

[ Clearly by now Alice is starting to show her more violent side, a darker side of her demeanor. She won't let them near Ariadne. Alice switches between the blades and the hobby horse.

Because she's feeling particularly cruel now that they're causing her friend pain. For as small as Alice is, she slams down the hobby horse sufficiently well to take out a clearing of dogs.

Alice isn't in the move to argue. ]

If you don't go inside, I'll make you.

You're coming with me.

[ Alice can try to make her. The dogs look a bit too shadowy for Ariadne to be fully comfortable shadow traveling, but she can change into the creature if she has to. ]

[ She just might have to pull Alice away, who isn't relenting from keeping the dogs away from Ariadne. To her, it's the only solution to fix the problem and Alice won't forgive herself if anything were to happen to Ariadne. ]

[ And Ariadne won't forgive herself if anything happens to Alice.

Still- she isn't going to try and drag her, not when Alice might accidentally jump and stab her. She starts to move toward the doors to the castle, but slowly -- if Alice is protecting her, she'll realize some of the dogs are moving to follow Ariadne and come with. She hopes. ]

[ Only for the sake of protecting Ariadne. She phases in and out of the swarm of butterflies, cleaving the hobby horse down on the dogs not far from her.

She's going to be exhausted after this, not that she particularly cares. ]

[ Once they're at the doors, Ariadne stops. ]

Alice- please, come in with me. Please.

[ Once the surrounding gates is cleared and Alice calls back the hobby horse, she cleans off the vorpal blade with a flick, but cleans off the long sword with her apron. Carefully. It does really cut better clean just as Maedhros has said. But by the time Alice gets near the door, she looks at Ariadne with an exceptionally hollow look.

Covered in their blood because if there is one thing about Alice it is that she's not a clean fighter. She fights rather violently, always picking the best option of inflicting pain on them. But by now, it's clear there's more to the mindless slaughter of them.

And that is a brief flicker, a vision brought by the hellhounds.

Trepanning, which by now was bard from being practiced in London -- well, no, it should have. It's too real and Alice if bracing the side of her head, to feel her hair. She still has locks of long, dark hair, she isn't there anymore.
]

Alice- [ she pleads again. She reaches for her only to realize that there must be something, another hound, one that's getting to Alice now-

-and Ariadne growls. The girl has been trying to protect her. Now it's her turn.

Shadows cover her like armor, horns sprouting from her head. She blinks once and her eyes change from brown to bright, lidless eyes, nails sharpening to claws, teeth sharpening to points. The dogs can't feel her fear like this, and they will focus on her despite it and leave her friend alone.

With a snarl, she charges past Alice to shove her claws into the throat of the hound that's just come around the corner. ]

[ But rather than turn to Ariadne, Alice doesn't react as a shadow seems to ghost by.

Once again, Alice is left wondering if it's a product of her own mind, considering her memories and fears have been rolled up together into vivid hallucinations and that to her would qualify as such. ]

[ It doesn't matter. Ariadne deals with the dog, ripping its head off with claws and teeth and strength she doesn't have as a human. The head is thrown as the body collapses, rolling to a stop by a wall.

Then she returns to Alice, more slowly this time, hands up. She's not going to hurt you, friend. ]

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video - open to both courts

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action; pocket berserker is a go

action; lord almighty

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action; /further freaks out ariadne

action; welp

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